Blank

I like blank cards. I’ve spoken with people who find them, much to my bewilderment, terrifying. Why, they say, on earth would I want a blank card when I can find one that has stuff in it already and I can just write ‘love, me’ at the bottom? It’s all done! Piece of cake!

For that very reason, gentle reader. Because it’s all done, pseudo-complete. It is one less step you have to take, another great way to save time in the day. Someone else, sitting in a card development department, thought about what to say for an anniversary. A birth. A baptism. A birthday. A joke. A divorce! A death. That’s what someone’s job is, to fill them in for you. Piece of cake!

I decided quite recently that I don’t want someone else to complete my cards. To paint on my canvas, so to speak. Sometimes it is really important to be able to say what you really feel, not just for you but for those around you. My health is one of those things. There is a growing movement among cancer patients to say things like “You know, I would really like this procedure, check up, surgery, etc. It would really help me know that things are ok.” Now of course, this is a tricky thing as we all have to navigate insurance and finances when it comes to big things like this, but it matters. The stories I’ve heard from around the world seem to be quite similar lately. People are willing to work harder to take care of themselves, and their families, and their piece of mind. Fight for yourselves, my friends. Get out there and write your own cards. Take a risk and put your honest, real emotions out there and see how it feels. Tell your doctor what you are worried about. Tell your loved ones what you need to say. Because, more often than not, life is not a piece of cake.